A new dust-up over wind power

A recently-published study suggests that wind turbines may actually contribute to global warming. A storm of finger-pointing and recriminations has ensued among skeptics, on the one hand, and greens on the other.

But, this is your captain speaking: Please don’t panic. What the paper actually says is, if enough turbines were built to generate 10 percent of the world’s power supply, heavily-turbined land areas could see a one-degree Celsius temperature rise, while off-shore turbine farms could see a one-degree Celsius drop in temperatures.

Indeed, in a press release, the paper’s chief author, MIT scientist Ron Prinn “cautioned against interpreting the study as an argument against wind power, urging that it be used to guide future research that explores the downsides of large-scale wind power before significant resources are invested to build vast wind farms. ‘We’re not pessimistic about wind,’ he said. ‘We haven’t absolutely proven this effect, and we’d rather see that people do further research.’”

The study really just flags that before we go whole-hog into any one perceived solution to climate change, we should dot our i‘s and cross our t‘s. (Take note, geoengineers!) Although climate skeptics are touting the study as a fail for greens, it actually underscores the basic fact they are most eager to deny: Human activity can and does influence planetary temperatures.

And the news, while something of a ding in the armor of the great windy hope, isn’t all that off-putting. Would the local hot and cold spots be disruptive, or would they average out? And would getting 10 percent of our power from wind knock our temperature trajectory down by at least one degree, thereby offsetting the effect? Will climate change slow the winds, thereby limiting our use of wind power?

Without a firm answer, one can only advise zealots on both sides of the debate not to go tilting at windmills.